Afterpay sees user growth in US market

Afterpay says it has continued to see strong growth in the US and now has more than five million active shoppers in that market.

The buy now-pay later company reported 4.4 million active users in the US at the end of March but says there has been a pick-up in usage in recent weeks.

More than one million new customers used the platform during the COVID- 19 period of the past 10 weeks - a 30 per cent to 40 per cent increase in the weekly run rate from January and February, Afterpay said.

"At a time in which e-commerce has become the primary way people are shopping, there is a growing interest and demand among consumers to pay for things they want and need over time using their own money, instead of turning to expensive loans with interest, fees or revolving debt," US chief executive Nick Molnar said.